Malappuram: ED searches residences of Ex-MLA P V Anvar, four others in loan misappropriation case
Malappuram (Kerala) (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided the premises of former MLA P V Anvar and four others in this district in connection with the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) loan misappropriation case, officials said.
The ED is probing a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Anvar (58), his driver Siyad, and three KFC officials — Abdul Manaf, T Mini and Muneer Ahamed.
According to ED sources, the agency initiated the investigation after the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) recently registered a corruption case related to loan misappropriation at the KFC Malappuram office.
Officials said that in 2015, KFC Malappuram sanctioned a loan of Rs 7.5 crore to Anvar’s driver Siyad for business purposes without properly assessing the collateral.
Within months, loan repayments came to a halt.
Later, two additional loans — Rs 3.05 crore and Rs 1.56 crore — were sanctioned to Anvar’s firm, PVR Developers, against the same collateral on which the Rs 7.5 crore loan had been granted earlier, an official said.
KFC incurred a total loss of Rs 22.30 crore due to the alleged loan misappropriation.
The ED began its raid at Anvar’s residence in Edavanna and at his business establishments, including an amusement park in the district, at around 7 am.
Simultaneous searches were also carried out at the residences of Siyad and the KFC officials, the official said.
Last month, the ED recorded the statement of Murugesh Narendran, the complainant in the VACB case.
Anvar, a former MLA from Nilambur, parted ways with the LDF following differences and later contested the Assembly by-election on an All India Trinamool Congress ticket early this year.
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Indian visa application centre suspended indefinitely in Bangladesh's Chattogram
Dhaka (PTI): India on Sunday suspended visa operations at its mission in Bangladeshi port city of Chattogram until further notice, according to media reports.
The move comes in the wake of a fresh wave of unrest witnessed in the country following the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
His death triggered attacks and vandalism across Bangladesh, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram on Thursday.
Hadi, a prominent leader of the student-led protests last year that led to the ouster of the prime minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, was a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections.
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He was shot in the head on December 12 by masked gunmen at an election campaign in central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area and died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on December 18.
“Due to the recent security incident at Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong (Chattogram) will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice,” the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) said in a brief statement.
The announcement for reopening the visa centre will be made after reviewing the situation, the statement added. The decision came into effect on Sunday.
There are five IVAC facilities across Bangladesh at Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Sylhet. An IVAC official told PTI that the other four offices have remained operational as of Sunday.
India on Thursday resumed operations at its visa application centre in Dhaka, a day after closing it over escalated security concerns, but closed for a brief period two other identical facilities in Rajshahi and Khulna as anti-India protestors tried to march towards the Indian missions there.
On Saturday, security was strengthened at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and the visa application centre in Bangladesh's Sylhet city.
The enhanced security measures were put in place to ensure that “no third party can exploit the situation,” Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police Saiful Islam was quoted as saying by The Dhaka Tribune newspaper on Saturday.
Hadi, 32, was laid to rest on Saturday amid extra-tight security beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam near the Dhaka University mosque.
Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral prayers, and ahead of the ritual, chanted anti-India slogans like “Delhi or Dhaka - Dhaka, Dhaka” and “brother Hadi’s blood will not be allowed to go in vain.”
Earlier on December 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Bangladesh envoy Riaz Hamidullah and conveyed its strong concern over certain extremist elements announcing plans to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka.
“We expect the interim government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in Bangladesh in keeping with its diplomatic obligations,” it said.
The envoy was apprised of India's strong concerns about the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh, it added.
